Hair ornament retaining implements and method

ABSTRACT

A hair ornament retaining implement includes a band of resiliently deflectable material having a normally open loop for receiving multiple strands of hair of an individual, and integral legs for being selectively intertwined to close the loop and cinch the multiple strands of hair so as to secure the implement to the hair. The band carries a coupling element for coupling the hair ornament to the band so as to retain the ornament on the hair for decorating the hair. A hair appliance employs a decorative cord coupled to a plurality of the implements for extending between the implements and decorating the hair when the implements are secured to the hair.

The present invention relates generally to decorating an individual'shair and pertains, more specifically, to implements and method forretaining ornamental items on the head of a person through ready andconvenient attachment to the person's hair.

Throughout time immemorial, people have employed a very wide variety ofornamental devices to decorate themselves and, in particular, to enhancethe appearance of the hair on their heads. Women, especially, havesought new and unique ornamental arrangements for accentuating thebeauty of their hair in efforts to increase their attractiveness.

The present invention provides hair ornament retaining implements andmethod by which a person's hair is uniquely decorated with ease andversatility. As such, the present invention attains several objects andadvantages, some of which are summarized as follows: Providesexceptionally simple and highly effective implements and method forretaining ornaments in strands of a person's hair; allows convenient andeconomical decoration of a person's hair with a very wide variety ofornamental items; enables a very high degree of versatility inaccomplishing a myriad of decorative effects for the hair, with minimalexpense; attains new and unique aesthetic effects in the decoration ofhair; offers opportunities for the exercise of increased individualcreativity in accomplishing decorative innovations in connection withthe ornamentation of hair; provides new approaches to hairornamentation, engendering widespread appeal.

The above objects and advantages, as well as further objects andadvantages, are attained by the present invention which may be describedbriefly as a hair ornament retaining implement for being looped aroundand secured to multiple strands of hair of an individual so as to fastenan ornament to the hair to decorate the hair, the implement comprising:a band of resiliently deflectable material, the band having a loopestablishing an inner eye within the loop and an entrance for admittingmultiple strands of hair into the eye of the loop, and opposed legsextending longitudinally along the entrance and laterally outwardly inopposite directions so as to terminate at laterally spaced apartterminal ends; a knob at each terminal end for facilitating anintertwining of the opposed legs to close the entrance and cinch theloop around the multiple strands of hair so as to maintain the legsintertwined and secure the implement to the hair; and a coupling elementlocated on at least one knob for coupling a hair ornament to theimplement at the one knob to decorate the hair with the ornamentretained on the implement, upon securing the implement to the hair.

In addition, the invention includes a decorative hair appliance forbeing secured to the hair of an individual to decorate the hair, thedecorative hair appliance comprising: a plurality of hair ornamentretaining implements, each implement constructed for being looped aroundand secured to multiple strands of the hair so as to fasten theimplement to the hair, each implement comprising: a band of resilientlydeflectable material, the band having a loop establishing an inner eyewithin the loop and an entrance for admitting multiple strands of hairinto the eye of the loop, opposed legs extending longitudinally alongthe entrance and laterally outwardly in opposite directions so as toterminate at laterally spaced apart terminal ends; a knob at eachterminal end for facilitating an intertwining of the opposed legs toclose the entrance and cinch the loop around the multiple strands ofhair so as to maintain the legs intertwined and secure the implement tothe hair; and a coupling element located on at least one knob; and acord coupled with the coupling element of at least one knob of eachimplement for extending between implements to decorate the hair with thecord retained on the implements, upon securing the implements to thehair.

Further, the invention includes a method for fastening an ornament tothe hair of an individual to decorate the hair, the method comprisingthe steps of: admitting multiple strands of the hair into an eyeestablished by a band of resiliently deflectable material, the bandhaving a loop establishing the eye within the loop and an entrance foradmitting the multiple strands of hair into the eye of the loop, opposedlegs extending longitudinally along the entrance and laterally outwardlyin opposite directions to terminate at laterally spaced apart terminalends, and a knob at each terminal end; intertwining the opposed legs toclose the entrance and cinch the loop around the multiple strands ofhair so as to maintain the legs intertwined and to secure the implementto the hair; and coupling a hair ornament to at least one knob to retainthe ornament on the implement for decorating the hair with the ornamentupon securing the implement to the hair.

The invention will be understood more fully, while still further objectsand advantages will become apparent, in the following detaileddescription of preferred embodiments of the invention illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a hair ornament retaining implement constructedin accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 2—2 of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 3—3 of FIG.1;

FIG. 4 is a pictorial view illustrating several hair ornament retainingimplements in place in a person's hair;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view taken along line 5—5 of FIG. 4 and showingone of the implements of FIG. 4 secured to strands of hair at theperson's head;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line6—6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view similar to FIG.6, but showing another alternate hair ornament;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view similar to FIG.6, but showing still another alternate hair ornament;

FIGS. 9A through 9E are fragmentary pictorial views illustratingalternate configurations of portions of the hair ornament retainingimplement;

FIG. 10 is a pictorial view illustrating a decorative hair applianceconstructed in accordance with the present invention in place in apersons's hair; and

FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line11—11 of FIG. 10.

Referring now to the drawing, and especially to FIGS. 1 through 3thereof, a hair ornament retaining implement constructed in accordancewith the present invention is illustrated at 20 and is seen to have abody 22 including a band 24 of resiliently deflectable materialextending in a longitudinal direction to form a loop 26 normally open toestablish an inner eye 28 within the loop 26, the eye 28 having anentrance 29 and a transverse axis 30 (extending perpendicular to theplane of the paper in FIG. 1). A pair of laterally opposed legs 32extend longitudinally from the loop 26 along the entrance 29 andterminate at laterally spaced apart terminal ends 34. The legs 32 arebowed so as to curve inwardly, toward one another, at 35 and then extendoutwardly to the laterally spaced apart terminal ends 34. An enlargedknob 36 is placed at each terminal end 34 and a coupling element islocated on at least one, and preferable on both knobs 36, couplingelements being illustrated in the form of an aperture 38 extendingtransversely into each knob 36, along a direction 37 essentiallyparallel to axis 30. Body 22 preferably is constructed of a syntheticpolymeric material, such as polypropylene, and is advantageously moldedin one piece, so that band 24, legs 32 and knobs 36 all are parts of asimple, economically manufactured unitary construction. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the band 24 has a partially circularcross-sectional configuration, flattened along transversely oppositeessentially flat faces 39, as seen in FIG. 2, the knobs 36 each areprovided with an orbicular configuration, and each aperture 38 is in theform of a hole which extends fully through respective knob 36, as seenin FIG. 3.

Turning now to FIGS. 4 and 5, implement 20 is secured to hair 40 of anindividual 42, at the head 44 of the individual 42, by first admittingselected multiple strands 46 of hair 40 between the legs 32 of theimplement 20, through the entrance 29, and into the eye 28 of the loop26. Then, the legs 32 are intertwined, as seen in FIG. 5, to close theentrance 29 and loop 26, and cinch the band 24 around the multiplestrands 46 of hair 40 so as to secure the implement 20 in place in thehair 40, the intertwining of the legs 32 being facilitated by theflattened partially circular cross-sectional configuration provided bytransversely opposite essentially flat faces 39. The knobs 36 assist inenabling manipulation of the legs 32 into the intertwined position, andthen act detent-like in concert with the bowed portions 35 of the legs32 to maintain the closed cinch of the band 24 so that the implement 20remains secured in place until selectively released by reversal of theabove procedure to disengage the intertwined legs 32 from one anotherand open entrance 29.

A hair ornament is shown in the form of a bangle 50 which includes aring 52 and a decorative beaded chain 54. As best seen in FIG. 6, thering 52 carries the chain 54 and is engaged with aperture 38 in the knobby being threaded through the aperture 38 to couple the chain 54 to theknob 36 and, thus, to the implement 20. In this manner, the bangle 50 isretained simply and conveniently in any selected location along the hair40.

As seen in FIG. 7, an alternate hair ornament in the form of a bead 60is retained in the individual's hair by implement 20. In thisembodiment, aperture 38 includes a seat 62 for the reception andengagement of bead 60 and coupling of bead 60 to knob 36 and, thus, toimplement 20. In this instance, an adhesive 64 affixes the bead 60within the seat 62.

Another alternate hair ornament is shown in FIG. 8 in the form of agemstone 70 seated within a seat 72 provided by aperture 38. Again, anadhesive 74 is employed to assure affixation of the gemstone 70 coupledwith the knob 36; however, aperture 38 provides air space 76 behind thegemstone 70 to enable the desired refraction and total reflection oflight within the gemstone 70.

As another decorative alternative, knob 36 itself may be provided withany one of numerous ornamental configurations. As illustrated in FIGS.9A through 9E, knob 36A in FIG. 9A has a cubic configuration, while inFIG. 9B knob 36B is provided with a pyramidal configuration. Knob 36C isseen in FIG. 9c to have a cardioid configuration, knob 36D isillustrated in FIG. 9D with a star-shaped configuration, and knob 36E isdepicted in FIG. 9E with a floral configuration. It will be apparentthat a variety of ornamental configurations can be formed integral withimplement 20 by varying the configurations of knobs 36.

Referring now to FIGS. 10 and 11, a hair appliance 100 utilizes aplurality of implements 20 to provide another decorative alternative.Thus, a decorative cord 110 is threaded through at least one aperture 38of each one of the plurality of implements 20, as seen in FIG. 11, andthe assembled implements 20 and cord 110 are arranged throughout hair120 of individual 122, as illustrated in FIG. 10, so as to provide anintegrated hair ornament 130 secured to the hair 120 of individual 122.In the preferred arrangement, decorative cord 110 is constructed of anelastic material so as to better follow any one of a myriad of aestheticpatterns established by selecting particular locations for thesecurement of implements 20 to hair 120 and routing the cord 110 toextend between the secured implements 20. In addition, cord 110 servesto hold hair 120 in place in selected hair arrangements, and thatholding function is enhanced by the resilient expansion and contractionprovided by an elastic cord 110.

It will be seen that the present invention attains all of the objectsand advantages summarized above, namely: Provides exceptionally simpleand highly effective implements and method for retaining ornaments instrands of a person's hair; allows convenient and economical decorationof a person's hair with a very wide variety of ornamental items; enablesa very high degree of versatility in accomplishing a myriad ofdecorative effects for the hair, with minimal expense; attains new andunique aesthetic effects in the decoration of hair; offers opportunitiesfor the exercise of increased individual creativity in accomplishingdecorative innovations in connection with the ornamentation of hair;provides new approaches to hair ornamentation, engendering widespreadappeal.

It is to be understood that the above detailed description of preferredembodiments of the invention is provided by way of example only. Variousdetails of design, construction and procedure may be varied withoutdeparting from the true spirit and scope of the invention, as set forthin the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. A hair ornament retaining implement for being looped around and secured to multiple strands of hair of an individual so as to fasten an ornament to the hair to decorate the hair, the implement comprising: a band of resiliently deflectable material, the band having a loop establishing an inner eye within the loop and an entrance for admitting multiple strands of hair into the eye of the loop, and opposed legs extending longitudinally along the entrance and laterally outwardly in opposite directions so as to diverge and terminate at laterally spaced apart terminal ends and establish a resiliently intertwinable configuration in the resiliently deflectable divergent legs for closing the entrance and cinching the loop around the multiple strands of hair by intertwining of the resiliently deflectable opposed legs; a knob at each terminal end for facilitating the intertwining of the opposed legs to close the entrance and cinch the loop around the multiple strands of hair so as to act in concert with the intertwined legs to maintain the legs intertwined and secure the implement to the hair; and a coupling element located on at least one knob for coupling a hair ornament to the implement at the one knob to decorate the hair with the ornament retained on the implement, upon securing the implement to the hair.
 2. The implement of claim 1 wherein the legs are bowed to extend inwardly toward one another along the entrance and then outwardly away from one another at the terminal ends.
 3. The implement of claim 1 wherein the coupling element comprises an aperture in the one knob.
 4. The implement of claim 3 wherein the aperture extends fully through the one knob.
 5. The implement of claim 4 wherein the eye has a transverse axis and the aperture extends along a transverse direction essentially parallel to the transverse axis.
 6. The implement of claim 1 wherein the coupling element is located on each knob.
 7. The implement of claim 6 wherein the coupling element comprises an aperture in each knob.
 8. The implement of claim 7 wherein each aperture extends fully through each respective knob.
 9. The implement of claim 8 wherein the eye has a transverse axis and each aperture extends along a transverse direction essentially parallel to the transverse axis.
 10. The implement of claim 1 wherein each knob has a decorative shaped configuration.
 11. The implement of claim 10 wherein the decorative shaped configuration is orbicular.
 12. The implement of claim 10 wherein the decorative shaped configuration is selected from the group of decorative shaped configurations consisting of cubic, pyramidal, cardioid, star-shaped and floral.
 13. The implement of claim 1 wherein the band has a partially circular cross-sectional configuration and includes transversely opposite essentially flat faces.
 14. A decorative hair appliance for being secured to the hair of an individual to decorate the hair, the decorative hair appliance comprising: a plurality of hair ornament retaining implements, each implement constructed for being looped around and secured to multiple strands of the hair so as to fasten the implement to the hair, each implement comprising: a band of resiliently deflectable material, the band having a loop establishing an inner eye within the loop and an entrance for admitting multiple strands of hair into the eye of the loop, opposed legs extending longitudinally along the entrance and laterally outwardly in opposite directions so as to terminate at laterally spaced apart terminal ends; a knob at each terminal end for facilitating an intertwining of the opposed legs to close the entrance and cinch the loop around the multiple strands of hair so as to maintain the legs intertwined and secure the implement to the hair; and a coupling element located on at least one knob; and a cord coupled with the coupling element of at least one knob of each implement for extending between implements to decorate the hair with the cord retained on the implements, upon securing the implements to the hair.
 15. The appliance of claim 14 wherein the cord comprises an elastic cord.
 16. The appliance of claim 14 wherein the coupling element comprises an aperture extending through the one knob and the cord is threaded through the aperture.
 17. The appliance of claim 16 wherein the cord comprises an elastic cord.
 18. A method for fastening an ornament to the hair of an individual to decorate the hair, the method comprising the steps of: admitting multiple strands of the hair into an eye established by a band of resiliently deflectable material, the band having a loop establishing the eye within the loop and an entrance for admitting the multiple strands of hair into the eye of the loop, opposed legs extending longitudinally along the entrance and laterally outwardly in opposite directions to terminate at laterally spaced apart terminal ends, and a knob at each terminal end; intertwining the opposed legs to close the entrance and cinch the loop around the multiple strands of hair so as to maintain the legs intertwined and to secure the implement to the hair; and coupling a hair ornament to at least one knob to retain the ornament on the implement for decorating the hair with the ornament upon securing the implement to the hair.
 19. The method of claim 18 wherein the step of coupling the ornament to the one knob includes engaging the ornament with an aperture in the knob.
 20. The method of claim 18 wherein the step of coupling the ornament to the one knob includes threading the ornament through an aperture in the knob. 